Out to Dinner
by Chezza
Summary: Second part of the 'Making Amends' series. Sequel to 'The Paperless Office'. Jack takes Sam out for that dinner date
1. Default Chapter

Title: 'Out to Dinner'  
  
Author: Chezza  
  
E-mail: cyberchezza@tiscali.co.uk  
  
Status: Complete  
  
Series/Sequel Info: Second part of the 'Making Amends' series. Sequel to 'The Paperless Office'.  
  
Summary: Jack takes Sam out for that dinner date   
  
to talk over a few issues. Um, that's it.  
  
Spoilers: Hundred Days (Yeah, yeah, I know....)  
  
Season: Three. Obviously. Set literally - as in 'the very next day' literally - after Jack   
  
returns from Edora.  
  
Characters: Jack O'Neill, Sam Carter  
  
Pairings: Duh. See above....  
  
Category: Ummm, pretty much pure Fluff, mebbe a bit of Romance. And not a helluva lot   
  
of anything else in this one I'm afraid, not even Humour! S/J UST/Friendship.  
  
Rating: PG (how embarassing)  
  
Warnings: V. mild angst. No language warning this time. Which is shocking for one of my   
  
stories I'll admit....  
  
File Size: 25kb  
  
Archive: Archive: Helio, ff.net, Gateworld, SJD, Jackfic, Carterfic… Anyone else - hey, ya want it you can   
  
have it. Just ask me first okay? I wanna know where it's going so I can visit!  
  
Disclaimer: Ain't mine. Gee *that's* a shocker....   
  
Author's Notes: Thanks - as always - go to dragonlady for the beta-read. Even if she   
  
did forget she was supposed to be beta-ing it, not just reading!  
  
This story is a sequel to my 'Paperless Office' fic, so if you haven't read that one, this   
  
won't make much sense. Many, many thanks to everyone who sent me feedback on that. I   
  
think I got more feedback for that one story alone, than I've had for the rest of my   
  
work combined! Thank you. You all asked, pleaded, got down on your knees and begged   
  
for the restaurant scene. So here it is. Be warned tho', it's probably not what most of   
  
you will be expecting. I've read too many post-Edora fics to count and they mainly seem   
  
to concentrate on Sam's POV. I've always been interested to know what Jack thought   
  
about it all and this is the result.  
  
As always, flames will be used to light Tealc's candles....not like that! Get your mind out   
  
the gutter, f'cryin' out loud....  
  
On with the show....  
  
~~~o0o~~~  
  
Colonel Jack O'Neill knocked on his 2IC's door at 1900 hours sharp. He'd just been back   
  
to his house for the first time in three months. And boy, had it felt good. Up until two   
  
days ago, he thought he would never see it again. Never again sit on his roof watching   
  
the stars through his telescope. Or drive his truck. Or take his early morning run   
  
through the woods behind his house. All the little things that he'd missed more than he   
  
thought possible. All the little things that, when added up together, made this place   
  
*home*. Now here he was, about to thank the person who'd made it possible for him to   
  
do it all once more.  
  
The sound of a key turning in a lock came from the other side of the door. It opened   
  
inward to reveal the house's owner - Major Samantha Carter. The Colonel's 2IC and one   
  
of the few people that Jack O'Neill classed as a true friend nowadays.  
  
"Sir, hi!"  
  
"Hey Carter." He replied, letting his eyes roam her body. She was dressed in a little red   
  
top that he was sure would show some midriff if she stretched and a pair of plain black   
  
trousers that fitted her long legs *very* well. Seeing her in fatigues all the time, made   
  
him forget what a fine figure she actually had.  
  
He couldn't resist a low whistle.  
  
"You look a million dollars, Carter."  
  
She grinned and deliberately looked him up and down in return. Plain grey t-shirt that   
  
clung in all the right places, tucked into a snug fitting pair of black jeans. Topped off   
  
with his obligatory black leather jacket. *Very* nice. Very nice indeed. It was such a   
  
shame his regular fatigues were so baggy. The man really did have a great body....  
  
"You don't clean up so bad yourself, sir."  
  
"Yeah well, it's amazing the difference a proper shower makes."  
  
She laughed. "Not too many of them in recent month's then?"  
  
He pulled a face. "Ah no. As relaxing a vacation spot as Edora is, it doesn't have much in   
  
the way of mod cons, if ya know what I mean."  
  
"Back to basics then huh? Outside toilets, tin baths...." Sam was actually quite curious.   
  
They hadn't really had chance to see the everyday life of the Edorans before everything   
  
had gone to Hell in a handbasket. As on most missions they'd set up their own camp and   
  
only ventured into the village when necessary. Which granted had been often, as the   
  
Edorans were a very welcoming people, but she'd never seen more of their homes than   
  
the main living area.  
  
"Try wooden shacks with a hole in the ground and a tub in front of the fire. Or the   
  
river."  
  
"Very...rustic."  
  
"Oh yes. I don't think I've enjoyed a shower so much in my life. I tell ya Carter, if I   
  
hadn't been taking you out to dinner tonight, I may just have spent the entire evening in   
  
there."  
  
Sam swallowed hard as an image of her CO naked, soapy and wet in the shower popped   
  
into her head. She ruthlessly stamped on the little voice in her head that was suggesting   
  
they just blow the whole dinner thing off and spend the evening in her shower.  
  
"Don't let me stop you, sir." *Damn* she hadn't meant to say that!  
  
"Oh no." He laughed, either completely missing or ignoring the possible double meaning of   
  
her words.  
  
"You don't get out of it that easily."  
  
"Wouldn't dream of it. Sir."  
  
He waggeld his eyebrows suggestively. "Shame. And here I was hoping you were offering   
  
the use of your shower for the evening instead...."  
  
Sam blushed bright red. He hadn't missed it. Oh well, she could give as good as she got.....  
  
"Well, if that's what you'd prefer sir, I'm sure there's enough room for two - "  
  
His jaw dropped open as he stared at her. She swallowed as she stared back, *This* was   
  
new. Normally they'd never have let the innuendo get this far....  
  
The moment was broken by a loud gurgling noise. Jack snapped his mouth shut and shot a   
  
chagrined look down at his stomach. He looked back up when hers made a similar noise.   
  
They burst out laughing.  
  
"As nice as that sounds Major, I think our stomachs might object..don't you?"  
  
She shook her head in amusement. "I'll just go get my jacket, sir."  
  
Jack sighed and leaned against the doorframe, sticking his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Carter, you've been spending *way* to much time with Daniel."  
  
Sam frowned. Huh?  
  
"I'm sorry?"  
  
Jack grinned and launched into a pretty good imitation of their team mate.  
  
"I'll *just* be a second - I *just* need to get a few things - *just* five more minutes   
  
Jack...."  
  
They shared a smile at the expense of their friend. "Is there a technical term for that,   
  
Colonel?" Sam joked.  
  
"Yeah, it's called 'justing'. And I'd rather it didn't spread...."  
  
Sam smiled as she lifted her jacket off the hook and pulled it on. "Bit late for that, sir."  
  
"Obviously." He grinned wryly. "Does beg the question of exactly how *much* time you've   
  
been spending with him tho'...."  
  
"He took over your 'sitting in the astrophysicist's lab and bugging the hell out of her   
  
until she takes a break' role, sir. So quite a bit."  
  
Jack sighed and shook his head in dismay, stepping back out of the doorway. "I'm *that*   
  
easy to replace? Ya really know how ta knock a guy's ego, Carter."  
  
Sam chuckled as she locked the door behind her. "Well, if you *will* go off on these   
  
unscheduled vacations, sir...."  
  
"Yeah, yeah...." Jack stopped suddenly in the middle of the path and grabbed her arm.   
  
"Hey Carter," He asked, concerned. "Ya didn't let him use my chair did ya? It took me   
  
*ages* to get that set up right - "  
  
"Actually sir...."  
  
"Carter! Ya didn't. *Tell* me ya didn't?"  
  
She laughed. "No sir. I didn't."  
  
She hadn't. His chair - the one he always sat in when he visited her lab, the one he span   
  
round and round on like a little kid - had been left exactly the way it was the last time   
  
he'd visited her lab before becoming trapped on Edora. Complete with the shirt casually   
  
slung over the back. She'd been running an experiment at the time and he had   
  
complained it was too hot. Seeing it there every day had provided an added incentive, as   
  
if she needed one.  
  
Jack sighed in relief. "Good...that's good. What would I do without you Carter?"  
  
"Spend the rest of your life stuck on an alien planet?" She asked innocently.  
  
"Well yeah, there's that...and I'm more grateful than you know, that you managed to find   
  
a way round *that* one."  
  
"Whatever you say, sir." She still wasn't entirely convinced that he wasn't just saying it   
  
simply to make her feel better.   
  
The hand on her arm moved to tilt her chin up so she was looking him in the eye. She   
  
suddenly found it hard to breathe.  
  
"Seriously, Carter. I am." And she found she could believe him.  
  
"I know, sir." She said quietly.  
  
He smiled slowly. His thumb smoothed across her cheek in an unconscious gesture. She   
  
closed her eyes at the sensation. Too close Sam, *way* too close....  
  
His hand fell away. She opened her eyes to find him studying his boots.   
  
"I missed you Carter." He said softly.  
  
Oh God. She was gonna *have* to tell him now. Sam drew a shaky breath and forced the   
  
words past the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat.  
  
"I missed you too, sir."  
  
He shot a glance up at her.  
  
"Really?"  
  
She bit her lip and looked down at the floor herself.  
  
"Yeah," She admitted.  
  
There was a pause, both of them unsure what to say next.   
  
"Ah Hell," Jack muttered as if coming to a decision.  
  
Sam looked up at him in surprise.  
  
"C'mere." He said and pulled her into a hug.  
  
Sam froze for a second in shock and then relaxed into it, wrapping her arms around his   
  
back. She shivered slightly, trying to ignore how good it felt to be pressed up against   
  
him.  
  
After a few moments he let her go. They stepped apart, Sam blinking rapidly to try and   
  
disperse the tears that had suddenly appeared in the corners of her eyes.  
  
"Okay, it's official." He said jokingly, his own eyes suspiciously bright. "We're both a   
  
couple of the biggest saps going."  
  
"Looks that way, sir." She replied.  
  
"Well I don't know about you Major, but Sap 1 would like to take Sap 2 for that meal he's   
  
been promising her. There's the biggest steak you've ever *seen* out there somewhere   
  
with my name on it...."  
  
"Sap 2 thinks that would be a very good idea sir. My stomach thinks my throat's been   
  
cut."  
  
"In that case -" Jack hit the remote central locking button on his keys and unlocked the   
  
doors to his truck. He waved his hand in it's direction. " - your carriage awaits ma'am."  
  
Sam shook her head and walked to the truck. She wasn't even going to dignify that   
  
comment with a reply.  
  
~~~o0o~~~ 


	2. Out to Dinner Part 2

~~~o0o~~~  
  
The ride to the restaurant was quiet and uneventful. The radio was on and neither one   
  
was big on small talk, preoccupied as they were with their own thoughts. They parked up   
  
outside the restaurant and Jack guided Sam towards the entrance with a hand on her   
  
lower back. She turned to look at him as they went through the doors.  
  
"Trying to make sure I don't run away, sir?" She joked.  
  
"Something like that," Jack replied. He could hardly admit it was because he enjoyed the   
  
feel of his hand there.  
  
Once inside they were led to a table and Jack ordered a couple of beers. The waitress   
  
left them with a couple of menus and went to get the beers.  
  
"So...I'm thinking the biggest steak they do and all the trimmings. Whadda ya reckon   
  
Carter?"  
  
"I reckon that can't be good for your cholesterol level, sir."  
  
That earned her a dirty look. "Ah come on Carter, I've been stuck in a place that doesn't   
  
even know the meaning of cholesterol! I'm entitled to abuse my arteries a little if I   
  
want, I'm sure they can take it. 'Sides Doc said that being 'Jack the farmer' for three   
  
months didn't do me any harm - in fact she said I'm in better shape now than I was when   
  
I went! Go figure."  
  
Sam had noticed that he was *much* fitter than he had the last time she had seen him.   
  
But she hadn't been sure if it was simply a case of 'absence makes the heart grow   
  
fonder' or not. Although she tried *really* hard not to think of it in those terms.  
  
"Maybe because you were doing some real work for a change, sir?"  
  
He pointed a finger at her. "Funny Major, real funny."   
  
He gave her an appraising look. "Now you on the other hand - you could do with a little   
  
feeding up."  
  
Sam sighed.   
  
"You've been talking to Janet haven't you, sir?" She asked, making a mental note to have   
  
a quiet word with her supposed friend the next time she saw her.  
  
"Yup." He nodded. "But don't go having a go at her - "   
  
How had he known?   
  
" - I made her tell me when I noticed the way you looked."  
  
Sam looked up in surprise. *You* noticed?"  
  
"Sure. Believe it or not, I do actually notice things that affect my team mates."  
  
"Of course, sir." She murmured. He was their CO after all. It was his business to know   
  
whether or not his team were capable of functioning in their usual roles.  
  
"I'll understand if you want to take me off active duty for a while."  
  
"What? Hell no! Frasier says you're fine and that's good enough for me. A little skinnier   
  
than you were the last time I saw ya, but nuthin' a coupla square meals can't fix."  
  
"Is that what this is about? Feeding me up?"  
  
Jack narrowed his eyes. "Partly. Seeing as it's my fault in the first place."  
  
"Sir - "  
  
"Na-ah! Let me finish. If I hadn't got myself stuck, then you wouldn't have had to work   
  
so hard to get me *unstuck* and you wouldn't have made yourself ill. By doing this, I get   
  
to say thanks and help keep you out of the good Doctor's clutches. So, I don't wanna   
  
hear anymore about it. Got that?"  
  
Sam pulled a face. There was no arguing with him when he was in one of those moods.   
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Good."  
  
After some argument, they finally settled on the second largest steak that O'Malleys   
  
did for Sam and no trimmings, except for onion rings. The waitress brought their beers   
  
and took their orders.  
  
Jack settled back in his seat and took a long swallow from his bottle. "Aaah. Now *that*   
  
is good!"  
  
"I take it there was no beer on Edora either?"  
  
Jack shuddered. "Nooo. They had some really awful rotgut stuff that took your stomach   
  
lining off and gave you the mother of all hangovers. Did the job though."  
  
"Sounds a bit vicious."  
  
"Yeah," Jack murmured, his mind going back to the last time he'd drunk the stuff. The   
  
night before his rescuers showed up. The night he'd made his commitment to Laira and   
  
his new life. Which was at the heart of his current problem….Oh well, might as well get   
  
this done.  
  
"Soo...guess we should have that talk now huh?"  
  
Sam shifted uncomfortablely in her seat. "We don't have to do this, sir - "   
  
Can't we just enjoy the meal?  
  
"*Yes*" He said firmly. "We do. We need to work this out. So -" He waved his hand, "Tell   
  
me what's bugging you." He had a fair idea he already knew the answer, but he wanted to   
  
hear her say it. Which wasn't *really* fair, but he had no clue where to start with this.  
  
"Okay..." She paused then looked him straight in the eye and asked: "Why didn't you want   
  
to come home, sir?"  
  
Jack choked on his beer. Nothing like getting straight to the point, ay Carter? Oh well   
  
guess he deserved that....  
  
He scrubbed his hand over his eyes. Where to start? Ah crap, he really was no good at   
  
this...Jack began to think this wasn't such a good idea after all. Maybe they should just   
  
have dinner and enjoy the company. He lowered his hand. She was staring at him   
  
expecting an answer. He'd have to answer. It was only fair after all, he had forced the   
  
issue.  
  
Thing was, it wasn't that he hadn't *wanted* to come home, it was just - complicated.   
  
He'd only just become used to the fact that he would never see his home or friends   
  
again. He hadn't even known whether they'd even made it back to Earth before that   
  
honking great meteor took out the 'Gate. All he'd known was that he couldn't go home.   
  
Oh, he'd tried. He'd dug for days - weeks - but he'd eventually come to the conclusion   
  
that the 'Gate was gone. Hell, until he'd heard T's voice on the radio he'd thought it was   
  
scattered in tiny pieces all over the impact crater.  
  
"It's not that I didn't want to come home Carter, I just never expected that I   
  
would. Ya gotta understand, I thought the 'Gate was gone. Blown into a million   
  
bits."  
  
He'd resigned himself to the fact that he'd never get to see whether The Wild made it   
  
to the playoffs. Or ever again tease Danny about his rocks. Get his ass kicked by Teal'c   
  
in their daily sparring bout. Or see Carter's smile when she laughed at one of his corny   
  
jokes....  
  
"I didn't think I was ever gonna see any of you guys again. And that hurt ya   
  
know?"  
  
  
  
He hadn't forgotten them. Or her. But the days had gone by and had turned into weeks,   
  
then a month.... As time had gone on and a rescue attempt hadn't been made, he'd had to   
  
face up to the fact that there probably wasn't going to be one. It wasn't like it was the   
  
first time he'd been left behind. At the end of the day it all came down to resources.   
  
Was the recovery of one man worth the commitment of the manpower and good old US   
  
dollars necessary to to bring him home? Answer - probably not. Chalk it up as collataral   
  
damage and move on. At least that was the way it had worked in every other command of   
  
which he'd been a part. You'd think he'd have realised by now that things were done   
  
differently at the SGC. They had miracle workers here ya know. More specifically, a 5'9"   
  
miracle worker with blonde hair who seemed to be able to rewrite the laws of physics,   
  
just because she felt like it. Who was probably just as goddamn stubborn as he was.   
  
Good job too, otherwise he wouldn't be here....   
  
"As for being rescued...let's just say it's not the first time I've been stranded. I   
  
didn't expect anyone to put the money and effort into bringing me back. I'm just   
  
one man after all. And I certainly didn't expect you to built some fancy doohickey   
  
from scratch in order to get it done."  
  
Eventually he realised that with winter coming and with half the village gone, they   
  
needed everyone who could work, or they wouldn't make it through. So he'd pushed   
  
everything else back behind that door in his head with the rest of the stuff he didn't   
  
think about, locked it again and chucked the key. Wasn't the first time. Wouldn't be the   
  
last. So he'd moved on. Come to terms. Use whatever cliché you prefered. He'd had to, in   
  
order to do what needed to be done. At the end of the day it came down to practicality   
  
and Ma O'Neill's boys were nothing if not practical.  
  
"I honestly thought I couldn't get home. No way. I had to start thinking about   
  
what to do next. I couldn't just stand on the sidelines and wait for something to   
  
happen. I'm not like that ya know?"  
  
And he'd gotten used to it. Oh sure, Edora would never be home, but he could have made   
  
a home there. You began to settle, didn't you? The little voice in the back of his head   
  
told him. Maybe even - gasp - like it a little? No more fighting, no more guns, or   
  
bloodshed, or death. You no longer had to be the one in charge, making all the difficult   
  
decisions, you could just be Jack. And he realised the voice was right. He had liked it.   
  
He'd enjoyed not having the responsibility of command dictating his every action any   
  
longer.  
  
"I didn't want to spend the rest of my life on Edora, but that's what I thought was   
  
gonna happen. I had to make an effort. And yeah, in some ways it was kinda nice.   
  
See, for once I wasn't the one giving the orders all the time, I wasn't killing   
  
anymore...and yeah, I liked that."  
  
And he'd enjoyed something more. He'd enjoyed the companionship that Laira had   
  
offered him. It was one of the things he'd missed the most over the past five years.   
  
Having someone to come home to, someone who cared for him. And yes, it had felt good.   
  
It wasn't something he'd ever expected to find again. Oh he'd hoped, who didn't? He'd   
  
even thought about who it could be with, on the odd occasions when he allowed himself   
  
that fantasy. But realistically, he'd thought his time had been and gone.   
  
"And then there was Laira. She was good to me, Carter. She gave me a place to   
  
stay and she was a friend when I needed one."  
  
Then Laira had offered him the chance to have it again. Oh, he didn't love her. He'd   
  
known that and so had she. But he thought he could have grown to, given time. So with no   
  
way back, he had accepted. He had no excuse for that. He'd been happy for the first   
  
time since becoming stuck on her planet. How much of that was due to the rotgut stuff   
  
he'd been drinking he didn't know, but his guard had been down. And it had been so long   
  
since he'd been wanted like that....  
  
"Then that last night...before you guys came through, we had this big celebration   
  
thing, lotsa dancing and that rotgut stuff I was telling ya about and she,"   
  
He paused. How to put this?   
  
"Well, lets just say she offered me something more and I accepted."  
  
Then WHAM! Suddenly he was going home after all. He sighed. He knew he was being   
  
ungrateful, but damn it! Why couldn't they have come for him even *one day* earlier?   
  
Before he'd made that commitment - and it was a commitment. He wasn't the type of guy   
  
who 'slept and left'. At least he didn't like to think he was. Which was why he'd had to   
  
ask. He'd known what her answer would be, same as she'd known his. And that was the   
  
hardest part. There had never been any doubt in either of their minds, that he would go   
  
home given the choice and she would not. Edora was her home, same as Earth was his.   
  
And Laira had accepted that. He wasn't sure he could've taken it so well in her position....  
  
"Then suddenly I'm going home which was great, don't get me wrong...but what was I   
  
supposed to say to her, Carter? Thanks for giving me my kicks last night, see ya   
  
around? Despite what you may think, I'm not the type of guy who sleeps and   
  
leaves. I had to make sure she knew it meant something ya know?"  
  
Jack shook his head and looked up. "So there ya are. Like I keep saying, I'm glad to be   
  
back. It's just - "  
  
"Complicated." Sam finished quietly.  
  
"Yeah, like that."  
  
She sighed. Sam Carter you are a prize idiot! She berated herself. She'd been so busy   
  
dealing with her own issues she never stopped to think he might have had some as well.   
  
That was possibly the biggest speech she'd ever heard come out of the man's mouth,   
  
especially on these kind of issues and she'd been the one who forced it from him. Even   
  
though as her CO he wasn't obligated to tell her anything...time to make amends, Sam.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
He looked up at her startled. "Huh?"  
  
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried."  
  
"Ah" He waved his hand. "Needed to be done. Clear the air and all that...."  
  
An awkward silence fell. Jack started picking the label off his beer bottle. After a few   
  
minutes he said: "Ya know this is easier."  
  
Sam frowned, not following. "Easier than what?"  
  
He grinned and sat back taking a long pull from the bottle again. "Talkin to Daniel about   
  
it."  
  
Sam blinked. She knew the Colonel and Daniel were good friends, but she'd always got   
  
the impression that he didn't discuss things. At all. With anybody.  
  
"You talk to Daniel about - stuff?"   
  
Oh yes, *very* articulate Samantha....  
  
Jack sighed. "Not by choice." He admitted wryly.  
  
"Daniel decides I need to talk about - things. So, he pops round for a beer...."  
  
"I didn't think he liked beer."  
  
"He doesn't."  
  
"Oh. Right."  
  
"Anyway he pops round. Talks at me for a bit. I listen. He tries to get me to talk. I   
  
change the subject. He gets angry. I ignore him. He shouts. I shout back. He apologises.   
  
I apologise. We have beer."  
  
Sam shook her head in disbelief. Sometimes she just couldn't understand the male   
  
mentality.   
  
"Why don't you just *chat*?"  
  
Jack shrugged. "Dunno. Because I don't want to I guess. I don't like being pressured into   
  
doing anything ya know? Maybe if he just popped round for a beer and didn't try to   
  
*get* me to talk, I'd tell him."  
  
"That's...." Sam struggled to find the word.  
  
Jack nodded. "Perverse. I know."  
  
"So, what made this any easier? I mean the sole reason we're *here*, is because my   
  
attitude pretty much forced you into talking to me."  
  
Jack gestured at her with his bottle. "That's not the *sole* reason. And you had every   
  
right to be pissed at me. I guess - I dunno, it's just easier to talk to you for some reason.   
  
Lemme put it this way, if we'd got here and I hadn't wanted to say anything, would you   
  
have pushed the issue?"  
  
"No." Sam admitted.   
  
"Well there ya go then. That's the reason - no pressure."  
  
"So..." Sam said slowly. "Let me get this straight - if Daniel didn't try and pressure you   
  
into talking, you would?"  
  
Jack took another swallow. "Probably. Just don't tell him. I don't think I could stand   
  
having him round at my house every five minutes wanting to chat."   
  
*You*, on the other hand....  
  
Sam grinned. "Your secret's safe with me, sir."  
  
Silence fell once more. But it was comfortable this time.  
  
Jack cleared his throat and leant forward in his chair. He rested his elbow on the table   
  
and held out his hand. All his fingers were curled under except for the little one.  
  
"Friends?" He asked.  
  
Sam grinned and leant forward herself. She hadn't done this since high school. She   
  
linked her little finger round his.  
  
"Always."  
  
The moment seemed to stretch as they stared at each other from barely a foot apart.   
  
Sam found herself unable to look away and it seemed he was having a similar problem.   
  
She felt the pressure on her hand increase as he wrapped his little finger tighter round   
  
hers. 


	3. Out to Dinner Part 3

A quiet cough broke the spell and sent them both leaping backwards in the seats, their   
  
hands flying apart. The waitress was stood at the side of the tabe with a barely   
  
concealed smirk on her face.  
  
"Your dinners, sir, ma'am?"  
  
Jack coughed. "Er yeah. Thanks."  
  
She placed the plates on the table and left.  
  
Jack looked at Sam. Sam looked at Jack. They looked at their plates and then back up at   
  
each other.  
  
"Woah." Sam said. "You really gonna eat all that?"  
  
Jack picked up his knife and fork. "Just *watch* me. I haven't had a decent steak in   
  
ages. I feel in need of proper meat."  
  
"No steak on Edora?"  
  
"Na-ah. Fish. And some strange kind of small animal kinda like rabbit. At least that's   
  
what it tasted like anyway."  
  
"I thought rabbit tasted like chicken?"  
  
Jack snorted and pointed his knife at her. "Only to people who've never eaten it. Take it   
  
from one who knows, rabbit tastes *nothing* like chicken."  
  
"So what does it taste like?" Sam asked curiously. She really wanted to ask how he knew,   
  
but figured he'd already opened up enough tonight. No sense in pushing her luck by   
  
asking for details about his past. He rarely gave away those details and usually only in   
  
throw away comments that left you wanting more than you knew he would ever say.  
  
Jack looked at her oddly as if he couldn't understand the question. "Rabbit." He   
  
answered.  
  
Sam closed her eyes. She'd walked straight into that one. She picked up her own knife   
  
and fork.   
  
"Yes sir. Of course it does."  
  
"It does. Really." He repeated, his eyes twinkling.  
  
She sighed. "*Yes* sir. I get the idea...."   
  
Please let this drop....  
  
He did.  
  
Sam picked at her food, she wasn't sure where to start. She hadn't eaten this much in   
  
*months*.  
  
Jack stopped eating and looked at her in exasperation. "Carter, are you gonna eat that   
  
or poke it?"  
  
She glared at him.   
  
He shrugged. "Just make sure you finish it all. Or no dessert for you."  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "And you're going to stop me how?"  
  
He grinned cheekily. "I have my ways."  
  
Oh I just *bet* you do....  
  
"Well I should warn you sir, *no-one* comes between a Carter and their dessert."  
  
"Is that a challenge, Major?"  
  
"Would you it like to be, Sir?"  
  
Jack looked startled. Then a huge grin spread across his face. "You know what Major? I   
  
think I would...."  
  
Sam grinned back, ignoring the little voice at the back of her head screaming 'Bad idea!   
  
Bad idea!'  
  
"In that case you'll just have to wait and see, sir."  
  
Jack went back to his food. "Whatever you say, Major, whatever you say."  
  
Yeah, dinner had been a damn good idea of his....  
  
~~~End of Part 2~~~  
  
Continued in 'Anyone for Dessert?' 


End file.
